"Why are BJDs so expensive?"

This is called scalping, please don't compare it to actual doll production, they are entirely different.

 

This logic COULD lead to exploitation and is therefore "unfair"?! Are we as a society at the point now where we're branding differing opinions as "potentially" exploitive? This idea, which I see in more forums than DoA btw, leads to the end-product of stifling all free thought, because who knows - your idea MIGHT and I said might be "unfair" to someone else, somewhere, at some point in the future, and therefore saying what you think is "oppressing" someone, and we simply cannot have that...!

God save me from political correctness! George Orwell was obviously even more on the mark than he knew. "Big Brother" [aka "being fair"] stalks the land, and no idea is safe. And with that I exit this thread.

 

*whistles*

Well, this thread was very informative. I learned something.

I think exaggerations are starting to come in to play.

 

As any of you who have tried to make a doll know... it's freaking hard as hell. If I ever (and that's a big "if") finish the doll I'm making, I'd hope to make about $200 profit on each one! I'm not incredibly talented at sculpting, so I know it will take me longer than some to create a doll, but I've already spent 70+ hours on her, and she's only HALF finished. Only half. The time and effort put into making a doll is tremendous and the price reflects that. The cost of resin, rent for the company's factory, labor, cost of web space, etc. all drive the price up as well. They COULD be cheaper than they are, but like someone before said-- if you could collect as many as you wanted because they were cheap, would they hold as much interest for you, even if they were customizable? I would get bored and move on to a different hobby, most likely.

BJDs are worth their price.

-Saiya

 

Meaning no disrespect, one can call something a fact all they like, but that does not necessarily make it so. My reading of the thread suggests that these facts are under debate, and many of the participants are trying to determine where the production costs and retail costs lie in relation to each other and thus if a premium is being charged or not.
Unless you have a company balance sheet or some other documentation, you do not have a verified fact. You have a (possibly correct) conclusion based on existing knowledge, assumptions, and some mental arithmetic.

 

Why do you guys think these dolls are so expensive? How much do you think it costs for companies like Volks and CP to manufacture them? And, in your opinion, just what is it that makes them worth so much money? Don't get me wrong, I adore them and I would love to own one very soon...but honestly, are they really worth it?

 

I think they cost what they do because that's what people are willing to pay. It's all supply and demand.

They are worth it to me..

I don't think they are easy to product but I would guess most companies are making a good profit on them.

 

Well it has something to do with the type of resin, which is supposed to be pretty expensive (also the amount of resin that goes into each doll). Then the molds can be used something like 5-10 times before it breaks or is useless. So then they have to make a new mold.

You have to imagine that painted dolls are all hand painted. There isn't some machine somewhere that can pop these suckers out en masse.

 

I think I recall a recent thread similar to this one. Umm they are very expensive but in a way that stops them becoming too mainstream which I like.

 

Good point! I don't think I'd love them as much if everyone had them.

 

True... thanks for pointing that out to me.

 

These dolls are equal to artists works. Like paintings.
What makes the price, I think bcoz these dolls are hand made/manually made.They make it from scratch and it takes extra/full care. And from what I've heard, the mold is very sensitive to weather, so it can only be made if a certain weather occur. And they also have to do the finishing touch here and there manually. Which is a very hard work

 

Yes as Georgia said, these are made by artists, and are handmade [so only in small batches] These are pieces of art not some cheap plastic thing that is made within 5 minutes.

And the same with art, if it's wanted you need to pay more for it, it's as simple as that.
If you order a doll it's made specially for you, if you order one with a face-up you'll pay the face-up artist as well...and because everything is made by hand that counts as well in the price.

I've been into this hobby almost 6 years and I do not regret it, yes the dolls are expensive and the clothing/shoes/wigs as well, but if money was really an issue I would've never bought one. So IMO they are 200% worth it and if you don't think so...then don't buy one.

Sabriell

 

No, I don't think its worth it- I don't think any doll can be worth that amount of money. It's just that I'm willing to pay that much to be able to get one, which isn't quite the same thing

 

Gabby ~ This is a really frequently asked questions by newcomers to the board! Here's a quite lengthy thread -

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4414

 

I have been wanting several super dollfies... but volks charges so much for them!! why are they so expensive??? I know about their extreme quality control, but it has to be something more than that

and this is kind of random, but does volks hire people in the LA shop?? and if they do, do they get some kind of discount?


thanks


sorry for the noobish questions8)

 

o.O what prices are you expecting to see??

 

Volks isn't really much more expensive than other companies. When I bought Kun from them, because of the exchange rate, she was only $552 including shipping costs.

Dollshe boys are $550, their Bermanns are ($900?), Luts/CP boys are $550, and those don't include shipping OR faceups; which Volks provides for free with their standard release dolls.

So, really, Volks is about average or under average (in comparison to other similarly popular companies, and when you include that they come with faceup and underwear for 'free'). And, obviously, thier SD-13 models will be more expensive since they have more joints and etc. Musedoll recently released limited versions that were over $1,000 each. @_@; And they weren't wearing much at all.

Volks generally uses better resin, anyhow; their own blend which includes UV protection, which other companies don't have. Volks really is worth their costs; but also, there are a lot of other companies out there to look at.

There are a lot of companies that are a lot less; like Mythdoll, but sometimes the quality isn't as good (no offense to Mythdoll peoples! They've gotten a lot better since their first run of dolls ^^ ).

Unfortunately, resin IS expensive. It adds up quick when you're casting dolls, and that doesn't include the cost of the molds, OR the salary for the sculptor who made the doll, or the cost of the painter, etc., etc.

Edit: Hehe, I just wanted to do a comparison. ^^;

Volks Kun: 57,540yen + 5200 yen =~ $532 - includes faceup, slip, panties, wig, and shipping
Volks Yori: 71,400yen + 5200 yen =~ $649 - includes faceup, slip, panties, wig, and shipping
Luts/CP Soony = $515 + $65.74 = $580.74 - includes doll and shipping
Luts/CP Soony = $515 + $65.74 + $55 = $635.74 - includes faceup, doll and shipping
Luts/CP Soony = $515 + $65.74 + $55 + $38.50 = $674.24 - includes faceup, doll, (as close as they have to a slip and panties set) and shipping
Luts/CP Soony = $515 + $65.74 + $55 + $38.50 + $28 = $702.24 - includes faceup, doll, (as close as they have to a slip and panties set), wig, and shipping

If you want to compare to boy prices, add $36 to the Volks SD13 prices, and $35 to the Luts prices.

 

http://denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?p=49685

They have to pay for shop rents, advertising, doll parties, the resin, staff, design, manucaturing ( didn't spell that right...).... really, how low COULD they sell things things without going outta biz. or cutting quality.